Existing Frameworks for How Trade in Water and Waste is Facilitated Between Countries
The arrangements described in this section are examples of existing arrangements between countries. They should not be taken to represent the options being considered by the Government for the future economic relationship between the UK and the EU. The Government has been clear that it is seeking pragmatic and innovative solutions to issues related to the future deep and special partnership that we want with the European Union.
This section has already discussed the international rules and standards which exist in the water and waste sectors. As a general principle:
– international trade in water as a good is not facilitated by any particular agreement, though there are some international agreements in place; and
– some rules on the trade of waste as a good are set at an international level;specific bilateral or multilateral agreements on trade then tend to reflect those international rules, rather than containing specific text relating to trade in waste.
As context, it is important to note that it is typical for trade agreements to contain best endeavours commitments in relation to sustainable development. For instance, the European Commission’s current trade strategy, published in 2015, states that:The Commission makes a clear pledge that no trade agreement will ever lower levels of regulatory protection; that any change to levels of protection can only be upward;and that the right to regulate will always be protected.
Similarly, the 2009 Recommendation from the Commission to the Council to open negotiations on CETA underlines:The commitment of the parties to sustainable development and the contribution of international trade to sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions.39
104.Chapter 22 of CETA – Trade and Sustainable Development – therefore requires the
parties, inter alia, to aim to:
– promote sustainable development through the enhanced coordination and integration of their respective labour, environmental and trade policies, and measures; and
– promote dialogue and cooperation between the Parties with a view to developing their trade and economic relations in a manner that supports their respective labour and environmental protection measures and standards; and to upholding their environmental and labour protection objectives in a context of trade relations that are free, open and transparent.
Water
Very few FTAs touch on trade in water.41 CETA, for instance, states that water in its natural state is not a ‘good or product’ for the purposes of the agreement, and is only therefore subject to Chapters Twenty-Two (Trade and Sustainable Development) and Twenty-Four (Trade and Environment); and a number of exceptions and reservations exist in relation to the collection, purification, and distribution of water.International standards for water and sewerage services are relatively limited.
Important international rules in this space are the:
– U.N. Human Rights Council Resolution on The Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, A/HRC/71/53/Add.1 (29 September 2016); and
– U.N. General Assembly Resolution on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, A/Res/70/169 (17 December 2015).
Waste
As discussed above, the UK’s involvement in trade in waste is more significant.There are numerous international agreements covering the movement and trade of waste, which are also described in more detail above, but which include:
– the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of HazardousWastes and their Disposal; and
– the OECD Decision C(2001)/107/FINAL.
108.Existing international agreements to facilitate trade tend to seek to ensure the effective implementation of these extant multilateral environmental agreements, rather than create new commitments on the trade in waste. Waste does not tend to be included on its own terms in Free Trade Agreements.